Oath Sworn Through Honor
by Insert Typical Username Here
Summary: What brings these people together is the vow they have chosen to uphold. An attempt at a novelization of what could have been Smash 4's version of the Subspace Emissary. Disclaimer: I own nothing, save for this story's idea and, obviously, original characters and locale.


Prologue

In the world we live in, there are very few "certainties." One man wittily remarked that "In this world nothing can be said to be certain but death and taxes." Some may look towards an "Absolute Truth," an infallible, incorruptible Source which to guide their lives. Others may deny these "certainties" entirely, claiming that "everything is relative." Despite all that people do and say, there is one specific "certainty" that relates to the topic at hand. This "certainty" is the fact that "Evil will always exist." Whether it be the natural selfishness of mankind; an oppressive, cruel dictator; or even the small lie whispering in your ear; "Evil" will always exist as long as mankind has "choice."

Fortunately, there is another "certainty" relating to the above. This "certainty" is that "Evil will always be countered by Good." Whether it seems like it or not, those who "despise evil" will always "fight for good." Despite the overwhelming amounts of "grey area" Evil and Good have in between them, these two forces remain locked in a struggle that spans all of eternity, be it on a personal scale, a nationwide scale, or even a galactic scale.

It is due to this nature of "Evil always existing" that heroes are called upon as the "Good which will combat Evil." These heroes, in all shapes and sizes, combat the "evil" they encounter in their own ways. This particular tale focuses on a band of heroes from every corner of the galaxy—and beyond. When a "Great Threat" rises up, it is the job of the "Brotherhood of Guardians" to counter this Threat. Commonly known as the "Super Smash Brothers" due to their unfortunate trend to cause large-scale property damage, these "Smashers," for an additional shorthand, use their experience and power, as directed by the mighty Master Hand, to protect the realms of the of people whom they hold dear.

Master Hand has called upon these mighty heroes thrice before: the first time to test the skills of these heroes, the second to defeat the Mad Left, Master Hand's own brother, and to officially form the Brotherhood of Guardians, and the third to defeat an ancient evil recently awoken.

Now, a new threat looms on the horizon. Monsters born from corrupted desire prowl the lands. Whispers of an army once defeated gathering again are spread amongst the sea of stars. Rumors of a treasure beyond imagination brings greed to the forefront of mankind. Foul creatures from legend are brought to life once more.

And, in the darkest depths of a prison infernal, a single soul stirs, causing the entire universe to shiver in fear and anticipation.

* * *

**Prologue 1: The Brothers Mario**

It was just another ordinary day for the two twins who called themselves "The Super Mario Brothers." Although the name had caused some confusion for those in the past, leading them to believe the short, stocky older brother who seemed to always be wearing red was named "Mario Mario" and that the tall, thin younger brother who likewise was associated with the color green was named "Luigi Mario," the twins quickly cleared this confusion up. "After all," said the older of the two, "If that were, the case, my name would have to be '2Mario' or perhaps 'Mario Squared'!"

The people of the Mushroom Kingdom were delightfully lackadaisical and a tad dull, and thusly inclined not to understand humor based upon the principles of mathematics.

That particular incident was neither here nor today, for today the brothers enjoyed a restful, relaxing hiatus from their normal life of traveling, adventuring, Bowser-busting and princess-saving.

Mario sat at the kitchen table, sipping a cup of strong, dark coffee and lazily flipping through this day's paper while Luigi stood at the stove cooking something for breakfast. It was not commonly known that the younger had a far better hand at the arts of the chef than the older did.

"Hey bro, do you think that we'll actually get a plumbing job anytime soon?" the green-clad brother asked, mixing mushrooms into his omelet. These particular toadstools were not the ones the brothers relied on occasionally to change size or otherwise perform miraculous feats; rather, these were normal mushrooms for consumption purposes cultivated in the brothers' own yard.

"Doubt it." Mario sipped his coffee. "I mean, it's been ages since I've even gotten a construction offer. The last time I did, it turned out to be an extermination request."

"What ever happened to Pauline, anyway?"

"Dunno. Last time I saw her was a while back at the toy incident."

"Which one?"

"The most recent one, remember?"

"Oh, yeah."

And thus, the morning passed slowly by for our two overall-clad men. Brfast came and went, and the brothers spent their midday working on personal projects, such as clearing out the basement or tidying up the attic. Amusingly, for such persons of great repute, being nationwide heroes and all, the plumbers preferred to live modest lives, outside of the hustle and bustle that was the city, but close enough to help people when the time called for it, which was, admittedly, quite often.

You'll find that many heroes prefer to live lives outside of the spotlight. It must be a hero thing.

The break from their uneventful day came during a lunch, with a letter carried by a particular Parakoopa, going by the name Parakarry. Letters were still a means of communications despite a wide acceptance of computers and other electronic equipment, mainly due to the fact that many of the Mushroom Kingdom's residents couldn't type. This particular letter, soaring through the door's mailflap due to an impressive toss by Parakarry, was caught by the white-gloved hand of the elder Mario Brother. Quickly ripping it open after taking note of the royal seal on the back, Mario read aloud the contents to his brother for the both of them to hear.

"Dear Mario and Luigi,

It has been brought to my attention that a group of unsavory individuals has appeared south of the castle. They have been causing an amount of trouble for the local militia, so please take care of them for me. You'll understand why when you get there.

Sincerely,

Princess Peach."

"Hey, a job. Still ain't plumbing." Luigi grumbled. "But why was it so important that she told us to go take care of it, instead of the militia?"

"Luigi, were you paying attention at all? We'll apparently understand when we get there." Mario chided his sibling. "C'mon, let's-a go."

A quick warp-pipe travel later, the brothers found themselves outside a small town known as Rose Town. They immediately turned away from the town and made their way through the various hills and pathways until they reached their destination. The sight that greeted them stopped them dead in their tracks.

"No way . . ." Mario stopped, shocked.

"It can't be!" cried Luigi, eyes wide in fear.

What appeared before them were beings not native to the Mushroom Kingdom, despite the numerous species therein. The creatures, for that was only what they could be called, almost seemed to be like children's dolls. From a rotund, green abdomen protruded two pipelike legs, connected to brown bootlike shoes. Spindly arms were inserted into similar brown gloves. Where a human's neck would be was a circular metal collar, with a red ring traversing the outside. Atop a comically round head, above two unblinking red eyes, was a short, cylindrical cap that matched the color of their bodies. As pathetic-looking and cartoonish these creatures seemed, the two brothers knew that these creatures were not what they seemed. They were, after all, just a skin. Out of a hole on their backs a dark essence floated forth. Inside the bodies of these oddities were a numerous host of pitch-black orbs, merged together to form the said standing creature. There were only several standing in the middle of the clearing, and, admittedly, they wouldn't put up much of a fight. However, it was what they symbolized that troubled the brothers the most.

Finally understanding what the Princess had warned them about, and fearing the worst, the brothers readied their spirits and leapt into action.

On the front porch of the brother's house appeared two envelopes, sealed with a peculiar crest—a circle with an off-center cross intersecting it.

* * *

**Prologue 2: Heir to the Monado**

Shulk straightened and brushed the blonde mess he claimed to be hair out of his eyes. "All right, everything's all packed!" he thought out lout to no-one in particular. "I've got my extra clothes, the Mobile Furnace, a week's worth of food, some tools, and my notebooks. That should be enough until I get to my destination."

Fiora peeked her head into the apartment-sized lab where Shulk called home. "Shulk, are you ready? We're all set."

"Almost done, Fiora," Shulk swung his bag over his shoulder. He strode over to the device near the back of the room that once held the Monado. Due to certain circumstances, he relinquished it and thus no longer had it. In its stead he used a replica forged by a friend. While not quite the same, it got the job done. Shulk gazed at the Replica Monado for a brief second, before grabbing it by the hilt and slinging it onto his back. Instantly, the sword attatched itself to an ether brace he wore on his back.

"Well then, let's be off," Fiora said, with a relative amount of patience, "I mean, Dunban and Riki are waiting for you."

"Right," Shulk nodded. He stepped towards the hall and turned around, taking one last look at his lab. "You know, I'm going to miss this place."

"Relax, Shulk," Fiora said with a smile as she put her hand on his shoulder. "It's not like you're going out on a journey to avenge anyone. You're attending a simple conference in the Colony on Shoulder Isle."

"I know, I know," he scratched the back of his neck. "It's just that the last time I left the Colony for an extended period of time . . ."

"Will you two stop dawdling and get a move on?!" shouted Reyn from the building entrance. "We haven't got all day!"

With one last look around his beloved laboratory, Shulk headed out into the Military District where his friends were waiting for him, with Fiora in tow. They passed quickly caught up to Reyn who was already walking away towards the District's entrance.

"Shulk, what are you doing?" Reyn shook his head. "You know it won't be good if you're late. Dunban and Riki are already at the Colony enrance."

"Reyn, you're surprisingly on the ball today," Shulk noticed with an air of bemusement.

Reyn shrugged. "If I let you be late, Sharla would have my hide," he said. "Plus, I wouldn't want you to be late for the big event."

The trio of friends quickly made their way through the Market District. They were treated to a variety of greetings and salutations from the Colonists.

"It sure is nice being known by everyone, ain't it?" Reyn grinned.

Shulk sighed. "Reyn, everyone knew us before our journey. Everyone knows everyone in a small Colony like this."

"Oh, right."

At last, the group made it to Fiora's house. It was here that Fiora lived with her brother, Dunban, who was essentially the hero of the Colony for his involvement in the Battle of Sword Valley a few years prior. Standing outside were none other than Dunban himself, from whom Shulk had learned the art of the sword from, and the current Heropon, the Nopon Riki. How Riki kept on becoming the Heropon he refused to tell, but Shulk suspected it had something to do with the fact that being Heropon kept Riki out of Frontier Villiage, much to the relief of many of the villagers.

"Shulk! You late!" the Nopon chided.

"I know, I know," Shulk replied, a little out of breath from having run clear across the Colony. When he finally caught his breath, he straightened and adjusted the bag on his shoulder. "Dunban, Riki, I'm sorry for being late. There was some last-minute things I had to do before I was finished."

Dunband gave a chuckle. "Don't worry about it. You're here now." He turned to face the group. "Well, I suppose it's time to say goodbye. Reyn, Fiora, I'll see you soon."

"Huh? They're not coming with us?" Shulk looked at his close friends quizzically.

"Nah, Shulk. Didn't I tell you before? I've got to help out Vangarre with the Millitary. And Fiora had to do . . . something, I forget," Reyn scratched his stomach.

"Reyn, you idiot. I'm helping you! I _just told_ you that!" Fiora shook her head.

"Oh, right."

Fiora turned to Shulk and gave an apologetic look. "Sorry, Shulk. I thought we told you."

Shulk frowned. "That's odd. I remember it _now_, but not before. Huh."

"We can discuss Shulk's memory lapses later. However, we need to get moving right now," Dunban said, looking at the sky.

The two groups quickly embraced, with Reyn and Riki once again engaging in a brief good-natured tussle. Well, as good-natured as those two could get. As such, Shulk, Dunban and Riki headed up the path towards Tephra Cave. Previously, you could only get to Tephra Cave from Outlook Park or swimming from the beach, but a last years' events had changed that, and now there was a path straight to Tephra Cave, connecting Colony Nine to the newly-formed Leg Isle, formerly the Bionis' Leg. After the occurrences of Shulk's journey, the Bionis had sunk into the sea. Islands had formed, similar to how the downed Fallen Arm had been. Many of these landmasses were arranged in a conveniently similar manner to the locations they possessed when the said continent was still standing, and were accordingly named for the parts of the Bionis they had been—the Bionis' Foot was named Foot Isle, the Leg was Leg Isle, and such. Out of force of habit, however, much of the Homs still called their homes their previous names. It was all rather confusing.

It was across these landmass that Shulk, Dunban, and Riki now traveled, hoping to reach Colony 2 on what was once the Bionis' Left Shoulder. A day had passed, and the party was just making its way to what was once the Knee. They still had the vast Gaur Plains to travel through, a monumental several-day journey of uphill hiking—not to mention the monsters that still called the Plains their home would still attack if they felt it necessary.

It was around midday when they reached the Kamos Guidepost. Having been around that area several times, the group was going to continue as normal, until Shulk noticed something strangely familiar. He stopped and paused, his chin resting on his hand.

"Shulk?" asked Dunban, shifting into a more comfortable stance.

"I sense something. A presence I've not felt since . . ." Shulk furrowed his brow.

"Last year, right?" Dunban's hand casually moved toward his sword hilt.

"Riki know! Riki also feel person!" the Nopon chimed in.

"But this feel . . ." Shulk muttered. "It feels like—"

"Both familiar and comforting?" an odd voice came out of the blue. Shulk's hand flew to the Monado Replica's handle, and Dunban's grip tightened. Riki merely fell over.

"Relax, Shulk. I mean you no harm." The voice's owner stepped out from behind the Kamos Guidepost. Shulk's eyes widened in response as his hand fell to his side.

"Alvis!" Shulk exclaimed in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"I've come to give you a bit of unfortunate news," Alvis said seriously. "Unfortunately, plans have changed. Dunban, I'm afraid that you'll need to give him the letter now."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Shulk turned to face his friend.

Dunban sighed and reached into his back pocket and pulled out a letter with an odd cross-shaped stamp upon it. "I was supposed to give this to you at the end of the meeting. I don't know what it's for, but from what I can gather it's some sort of invitation to a tournament."

Shulk accepted the letter and smoothly opened it. Bright blue eyes rapidly twitched from left to right, quickly taking in all that the letter had to offer. "You were right. It's some kind of . . . Smash Brothers? tournament. But . . . I don't understand. What's this about the 'Universe's greatest fighters'? And this right here. I can't make out what it says. And for this part, do I have to—"

Alvis was quick to interrupt. "Shulk. There is much that you do not know. But I promise, you will find out in due time."

Shulk frowned. "I don't see why I should go. I mean, I'm not _that_ good. Dunban's a better swordsman than me. I mean, all I have going for me is my visions."

"Shulk, don't sell yourself short," Dunban said. "You're able to do many things that I cannot-your visions being a prime example."

"The reason you must go, Shulk," Alvis confirmed, "is that this task requires the unique skills of the Heir to the Monado."

A sigh. "Coming from you, I don't suppose I have a choice," Shulk said. "So, how do I get to this place?"

Alvis snapped, and an ethereal circle appeared, engraved with the same symbol as the letter. "This will take you to where you need to be."

"All right," Shulk adjusted his shoulder strap as he stepped into the circle. "Dunban, Riki, let's go."

Riki, who had been on the ground this entire time, hopped up and started waddling over to the circle, stopping when Alvis stuck out his hand.

"Shulk, your friends will join you soon," Alvis said, "but you must go on ahead."

"Don't worry, Shulk." Dunban cracked a smirk. "I'm pretty sure that RIki and I can handle anything Colony 2 throws at us. Besides, Melia's joining us later on."

"Shulk do adopted Daddypon proud!" Riki saluted dramatically.

"Okay then." Shulk closed his eyes. "Let's do this."

The glowing disc began to shine further, its light reaching up beyond the clouds. Just before the light became unbearable, Alvis tossed Shulk a large, red object that, oddly, Shulk didn't see Alvis carrying beforehand.

"You'll need this for what you're doing," Alvis said in the same smooth voice he always had.

"Alvis . . ." Shulk stared at the object in amazement. "But this—"

"Fear not, Shulk. This one is entirely your own, and no other's."

And then the ethereal ring burst into a pillar of light, taking Shulk to destinations unknown.

"I'll see you again, when it's time," Alvis said to the two left, turning and disappearing from view.

With nary a word, the duo once again headed off towards the Isle that was once home to the Giants.

Back on Colony 9, the pillar was visible to all. Many wondered what it meant, some comparing it to the lantern incident from a while back. Reyn and Fiora, however, merely stared.  
"Good luck, Shulk," Reyn said before turning back to his work.

"Please, Shulk . . . be safe." Fiora whispered before she, too, turned away.

All the way in Colony 6, a certain medic gazed upon the vanishing portal with serious eyes. However, hearing the call of her brother, she turned away: for a healer's work is never done.

As the light faded, Melia Antiqua clenched her hand. With nary a sound, she turned and disappeared into Alcamoth's expansive halls.

On one of the peaks of Valak Mountain, in what was known as the Three Sages Summit, the mighty Avalanche Abaasy stirred. _Soon_, it thought. _Soon._

* * *

**Prologue 3: The Way of the Fist and Foot**

Times Square, New York. One of the most well-known locations on Earth. A major commercial intersection and a neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, NYC, it is sometimes referred to as the "Crossroads of the World." Approximately 330,000 people pass through Times Square daily, many of whom are tourists or people who work in the Square itself.

The people of New York were no stranger to strange occurrences, as such an important location is often the center of a great amount of trouble. From self-proclaimed "supervillains" terrorizing the population to rounds of worldwide martial arts tournaments being held in the center of the square, people knew what to do when things got rough: get going.

So, naturally, when a group of monsters showed up in the Square out of the blue, the fine citizens were quick to vacate the area in a calm, orderly fashion. Which is to say, they all bolted in terror.

The police were able to keep some sort of sanity among the evacuating population, in addition to fending off the oncoming abominations to an extent. However, it should be noted that the hides of these creatures were not easily pierced by the bullets of the handguns and rifles the police carried. It would be quite fortunate if that were the case, for the problems created would have been resolved fairly quickly and efficiently. Alas, such was not the case, even when the military showed up, with its higher-powered weaponry. Orders of greater military firepower were to be issued, but then soon delayed by a startling development:

A single figure, a lone man in a pink sweatshirt and sweatpants, was holding his own against these annoyingly durable creatures.

Maxwell Kim-Giovanni, given the moniker "Little Mac" due to his 5'3" stature, was leaving the gym for his way home as he heard of the disturbance on the radio. Quickly hopping on his bike, the Italian-American made his way towards the scene of the disaster. Thankfully, Doc Louis' gym was located closer to Times Square than the Bronx, so that wasn't a particularly hard feat. Ditching his bike at a safe location, he dashed up to the police line, hopping over the riot-shield line the police had formed. Ducking nimbly among the officers and ignoring cries of "Wait!" Mac weaved his way through the various persons attempting to repel the foul monsters. Suddenly, he found himself face-to-face with one of the monsters. Despite knowing that these creatures were essentially immune to weaponry that struck with more force than he could hope to create, what was Mac's reaction?

Punch them in the face.

Mac stomped with enough force to shake a nearby car. Before the creature before him could react, he drew back his fist, and with a grunt, delivered a lightning-fast uppercut to what he figured the creature's chin was.

The assembled officers and military personnel stared, awestruck, as the creature flew into the air, part of its head caved in. Where conventional weapons and firepower had failed, a single blow from an unarmed civilian had succeeded. Stunned, the law enforcement agents continued to stare at the miraculous sight of one man downing the creatures left and right with quick, successive blows.

"Hey, that pink sweatshirt! I'd know that anywhere! It's gotta be Little Mac!" one of the officers exclaimed.

"Really? The former World Video Champion?" queried another.

"Yeah, it's gotta be. Ain't no-one that small who moves like that."

"I'd heard he'd vanished! What's he doin' back?"

No-one had the answer to his question. All were wondering the same thing.

By the time Mac had neared the Square itself, one military man piped up, "Uh, hey. Shouldn't we give him cover?"

This snapped the men back into reality. They quickly followed, making sure to deliberately not get in Mac's way.

Little Mac, for his part, didn't notice any of this going on. All he saw were targets to punch. And, so, punch he did. However, this zealous focus on everything right in front of him would come back to bite him, as immediately reaching the center, he was rushed at by every angle these strange birdlike creatures.

The brave group of assorted officers and military personnel did their best to quell the storm, aiming to distract or at least annoy the creatures in front. The situation seemed dark, however, as the swarm of wriggling creatures seemed to constrict around Mac.

Suddenly, the creatures were thrown apart from the force of a burst of blue-white energy. The law-enforcement agents were able to catch a glimpse of Mac; spinning, pivoting, and throwing rapid punches in a three-hundred-sixty degree radius. This time, they could see a blueish . . . _something_ speed towards the assorted avian monsters. It was kind of like a heat haze, except bluish and not in one place. Another explosion, and the monsters all fell down. Only now did they catch sight of a muscular man in a white martial artist outfit. His stance was aggressive, his arms forwards and palms out, and, if they were closer, they would've been able to see a blue-tinted wisp of smoke coming from is palms. Standing straight, he walked towards the heavily breathing Mac and, eying the policemen and military personnel, turned towards them.

"You should focus on getting the civilians to safety. We'll handle the rest." He said in a noticeably Asian accent. The officers started to respond indignantly, but, upon seeing another wave of monsters coming towards them, they decided to take the strange man's advice and leave.

"So, you can use _ki_ as well?" the tall man said to the short boxer. Mac, still out of breath from his exertion, merely nodded. "It seems that these monsters can only be hurt by _ki_ or a similar force. Enough physical force should probably work, but there's no time."

"Who are you?" Mac asked after he caught his breath, settling back into a boxing stance.

"You may call me Ryu. Let's save the pleasantries until after we're done here." The taller man settled into his own stance.

"Alright then." Both men stood, back-to-back, and faced the oncoming horde. A strange glint lit both their eyes, and they stepped forward to meet their opposition.

"Straight Lunge!"

"Tatsumaki Senpukyaku!"

* * *

**Prologue 4: The Captain, the Hunter, and the Pilot**

In a far-off planet on the rim of the galaxy, there lies a bar. This bar is famous for attracting a variety of customers. From Galactic Federation officials, to underworld criminals, to even your average tourist, this bar accepts all. The mingling of the various races is such that no-one would bat an eye at a man in a North America-branch Earth Police uniform, an unrecognizable figure in a trenchcoat and fedora, and a short, vulpine-headed creature all sitting at a table, sharing drinks.

That is why no-one recognized Captain Falcon, Samus Aran, and Fox McCloud at a random bar, casually chatting as if they had not a care in the world. Though, to be fair, Samus was in a trench coat. She found them "mysterious" and "classy."

This is also the woman who can destroy entire organizations with nary but the suit of armor she calls a second skin.

Aside from this, the conversation gradually changed from casual smalltalk to something far more important.

"I trust the two of you have received your invitations already?" Samus pulled out a simple letter sealed with a peculiar crest bearing a circle with an off-center cross intersecting it—what had come to be known as the Super Smash Brothers' insignia.

"Yeah, we got 'em." Falcon replied, pulling out his own letter with Fox following suit. "I guess this means another tournament right around the corner, and, by extension, another incident."

"You may be right." Samus took a sip of her drink. It burned as it went down, a fire in the pit of her stomach. "I'm worried about what will happen this time. If it's anything like the scale of Brawl's incident, we've got a lot of work cut out for us.

Brawl, aside from referring to the Nintendo-made video game of the same title, was a codename used by the Smashers to refer to what was formally catalogued as "The Incident of the Subspace Army and Tabuu's Awakening." A lot of damage had been done in that, and many lives lost. It was not an experience that any of the Smashers were looking forward to experiencing again.

"I'm worried that it will be _worse_ than Brawl," Fox remarked. "All of our little 'adventures' have been getting steadily more intense as they've gone on. Sixty-Four?" here he referred to the first incident that had brought the original Smasher group together. "Just us twelve, a simple tournament, and Master hand. Melee? More people, a more complex tournament, and both Giga Bowser _and_ Crazy hand. Come Brawl we have do deal with an entire _army_, not to mention whatever Taboo was." He swigged his drink and shuddered as it went down. "Ugh. I don't think I'll ever get used to this one," he said as he pulled a face.

"That is certainly something to be worried about." Falcon furrowed his brow—not that you could tell, as his face was currently obscured by a standard-issue police helmet instead of his usual racer/crimefighter outfit he was known for. "I'm personally wondering how long it will be until it actually starts, and where it will even be. I've got a big race coming up."

Samus waved a dismissive hand. "I'm sure Hand can put bring you back before your race begins, if it comes to it."

The three sat once again in silence, occasionally taking drinks from the mugs placed before them, thinking hard. However, their contemplation was to be interrupted by a rather angry-looking band of seemingly drunk humanoids who marched up to their table. The leader of said bunch, a burly man with a rather impressive beard and surprisingly adorable pink horns, slammed a ham-sized fist onto the table, which threatened to knock over the drinks.

"Well, well, well," he growled, sneering at the three in question, "what do we have here? Three off-worlders? What brings you lot to this part of town?"

He was met with silence as his answer, as the three continued to ignore him. This only proved to anger him further, setting off his already-thin temper.

"You think you can just waltz in and drink here like ya _own_ the place or summat, do ya?!" his smirk grew as he popped his knuckles. "Well, me 'n the boys got a little somethin' for ya!" The group of angry thugs surrounded the trio. By now, people were hurrying to get out, as this situation would turn ugly _fast_. The bartender, knowing what was about to happen, hurriedly ducked out of sight.

"We're gonna give you a lesson you'll _never_ forget!" the pink-horned one yelled, a full-blown vicious smile plastering his mug. The rest of the gang stepped forward, sporting grins of their own.

At this point, Fox sighed, and pushed back his chair as he stood up. Seeing this, the gang's leader paused for a brief second, before his grin returned in full force.

"Oh ho f***ing _ho_, this one's got _stones!_" he yelled excitedly. "Well then, let's—"

But before the drunk could spout off another clichéd line, Fox _vanished_, reappearing outside of the ring of assaulters. He turned around, smirking. The leader froze, before dropping to the ground with an audible _thud_. It took a second for the gang to react, before turning around to the grinning vulpine figure behind them.

"Ugh, you _always_ have to start off this way, Fox." The police-uniformed man said, smirking as he did so. Unlike his compatriot, he elected to get up via way of kicking the table at the crowd and flipping into an overdramatic martial arts pose, complete with a hand taunt. "Come on!"

Samus sighed, and, standing up normally, backhanded a man in the jaw, dropping him cold. "Fine, fine. I'm not paying for anything, though."

What happened next was a blur. It wasn't so much a bar brawl as it was a one-sided bar massacre. The thugs didn't even stand a chance. Among the impossibly fast footwork of Fox, to the raw power of Falcon, to the steady grace of Samus' moves, the thugs went down in a matter of minutes. As the dust settled, the trio collectively dusted themselves off, flipped the bartender coins worth enough to cover their bill, and left the bar.

Back in their respective spacefaring craft, they discussed their next plan of action.

"I think that there's still a bit of time before the tournament officially begins," said Samus, now out of trench coat, wearing her Zero Suit, "so what do you say we hit up some bounties together? To take 'em out fast."

"Sounds like a plan," agreed Falcon, and Fox nodded.

And the three ships sped off into the sea of stars, wondering what awaited them around the corner.

* * *

**Prologue 5: The Mage and the Marizhuu**

Tokisadame Town, Japan. Located in the Gunma prefecture, this cozy residence of a relatively small population enjoyed relatively peaceful, ordinary lives. However, "ordinary" for them wasn't quite the rest of the world's "ordinary." After all, it wasn't quite normal for eight-year-old professors, wind-up androids, gun-summoning schoolgirls, and deer-suplexing principals to exist as if they were everyday occurrences. However, here, they did just that. After all, it was just another part of that town's ordinary life.

Several years ago, a certain class attended Tokisadame High School. They had moved on now, to bigger and better things. Sort of. After all, there was a college fairly close to hear, and many of them ended up attending there. However, the class that did replace them did have a rather interesting set of individuals to call its own. Among them was a young lass by the name of Noguchi Kanon. Standing at an average height of 5'1" with normal black hair and brown eyes, she looked like the sort of girl you'd see every day in the Land of the Rising Sun. That is, she did have a rather closely-guarded secret.

The secret? Her parents . . . were actually rather well off and not middle-class.

Those expecting something different should take it up with Kanon herself, as she didn't want her classmates to judge her by her money alone. Such a noble sentiment for someone of her age. That being said, she did have another aspect to her life that made her worth reporting about in this story, else she wouldn't be making an appearance. She, in fact, was a novice magical girl, belonging to an order called the Zodiac Saint Knights. Why this _isn't_ her "closely-guarded secret" is due to the fact that, simply, everyone knew about it.

It had happened so suddenly, it couldn't be helped. Out of the blue, a monster attacked the school. In the midst of the panic, a wounded magical creature made a contract with Kanon to "become a magical girl!"

Thankfully, there were no wishes involved, save that to protect her classmates from such threats. This would have been a very different story if such a thing happened.

As such, the contract was made, and her life was changed. Upon defeating the menace, she collapsed due to fatigue, and detransformed in plain sight in front of all her classmates. Thus, why her side-job as a magical girl was not a "closely-guarded secret."

Several months had passed, and with it several monster attacks that were quickly and neatly resolved. Throughout all of this, the town continued to support her in their own unique ways. This present monster, a colossal beast of several stories tall, had already ensnared several people and their pets in its sticky tentalced grasp. Cries of fear, frustration, and irritation filled the street. And, lo and behold, our valiant heroine stood waiting to combat it! Feet planted firmly shoulder-width apart, skirt fluttering majestically in the wind (in addition to refusing to show any peepers anything indecent), green-colored uniform firmly in place, and arms crossed, Emerald Knight Saber Mantis was here to save the day.

"C'mon, Saber Mantis, show 'em what you got!"

"Yeah, Saber! Do the thing!"

"Don't screw this up, Kanon!"

"You idiot, don't say her actual name!"

"It's not like nobody knows or anything, sheesh."

"Shut up, you guys!" Kanon, or rather Saber Mantis, shouted, flustered. She then cleared her throat. "Agent of evil, um, listen if you can!" Here the abomination gurgled loudly. "Er, I'll take that as an answer. I, Saber Mantis—"

"_Emerald Knight_ Saber Mantis, we've been over this before—"

"_Shut up, _Yukari!"

"I, um, er, um, the Emerald Knight Saber Mantis will bring you to justice, in the name of er, those you've . . . slimed?" Growls of irritation from the said townsfolk in its slimy grip. "Um, er, well then—"

"You might as well just get on with it," said the bored familiar sitting at her feet. Familiar Amarkis appeared to be your average stuffed toy of an ambiguous animal species, but in reality, he was a _magical_ stuffed toy of an ambiguous animal species. It might even be safer to say that he's a magical stuffed toy of an ambiguous and _combined_ animal species. With red fur and glasslike blue eyes, his deep voice belied his cutesy appearance. One might even go as far as to say that, if this were an anime or a video game, he would probably be voiced by the likes of Norio Wakamoto or Tim Curry. But that's beside the point.

"A-all right." You can't blame her for being too nervous, she's still relatively new to this. This is like, what, her fourth monster or something? "Uh, how did it go again? Oh, right."

"Yuarghlblarghl." The monster, obviously.

"Get on with it!" Everyone else.

"W-Wind Saber!" Summoning two curved saberlike blades attached to gauntlets on her wrists, in the manner of, say, Chipp Zanuff or Kars, she quickly sliced through the air with one saber. From that slash emanated a crescent burst of razor wind, which sped through the air. Too large to dodge, the monster took it full force to the face.

"Good. One more should do the Marizhuu in." Amarkis nodded in approval. "Marizhuu" is a term he coined himself for such monsters.

"Here goes!" Gathering more power, she crossed her arms, and, subsequently, her arm blades. "Wind Cross!"

This attack, similar to Wind Saber, launched an X-shaped blast of razor wind instead of the normal crescent. Its power is more than double than that of the first, but it's not a very mobile technique, as it dedicates Saber Mantis to firing in a straight line instead of being able to turn and slash at different angles. Regardless, this the monster face-on once more, and it sliced clean through, causing it to explode in a sticky mess.

"Whew! Glad that's that," Kanon said as she detransformed in a flash of viridian light, to the applause and the grumbles of the various townsfolk that had arrived to watch the spectacle. But, before things could go back to complete normality, or whatever constituted it for this town, _another_ explosion rocked the area.

Fate has a strange way of getting people's attention.

As the explosion cleared, people could see a crack in the middle of the road, where the monster previously stood. Thankfully, the blast hadn't hit any of the people who were dropped by the monster when Kanon killed it. Inside, they could see a young man clad in all green struggling to get up. Upon his back was a broad shield, in addition to a purple longsword. As the people stared in shock, he got up, dusted himself off, stretched, and grinned.

"Well, this is certainly _one_ way to start the tournament," Link of Hyrule said.

* * *

Author's Note: Well, hello, everyone! If this is your first time reading, welcome to a Smash Bros. fic from deep within the chaotic depths of my imagination. It's a-gonna be a wild ride, with characters from all over the place, not just Nintendo. However, the Big N will still receive the majority of the spotlight, so despair not! Think Super Robot Wars or Project X Zone, but with Smash.

Now, as for the Fiora/Shulk deal: Here, they ain't a couple. Best friends, but dating didn't really work out for them.

To those who are reading the update: Hey, it's break time, so that means update. A rewrite was needed, so here ya go. Hopefully an update will be soon.

So many questions left unanswered! What were those mysterious beasts the Mario Bros. fought? Where did Alvis vanish off to? Who were those mysterious people talking to the Emerald Knight Saber Mantis? Will Insert every get an action scene right? Find out (possibly) next time, on Oath Sworn Through Honor! Coming some time in the future.


End file.
